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Christian Bello Escobar began his career at ¹û¶³´«Ã½ in early 2014. He has been student-focused in every aspect, from a leader in Multicultural Student Affairs to director of migrant programs and services, managing the High School Equivalency Program and the College Assistance Migrant Program, federally funded initiatives to improve educational attainment. He received ¹û¶³´«Ã½'s Staff Diversity Champion Award in 2019. In summer 2021, he became the director of academic and community engagement with the College of Education.

What prompted your transition to the College of Education?

I learned early on that education and human development are my passion and life's work. Diversity and inclusion are essential to me, and ¹û¶³´«Ã½'s College of Education is committed to these concepts. This role will allow me to create opportunities to push higher education to a broader audience by increasing the number of teachers and allied health professionals throughout our region. More specifically, this position will enable me to increase the number of teachers of color, fill the national teacher deficit, and create initiatives to recruit future educators.

Did you always know you wanted to go to college?

Yes, always. My family's educational attainment was one reason why my parents moved to the United States in 1998. They worked the first shift at factories in the mornings and cleaned offices in the evening. I would walk into the offices and see degrees covering the wall. I thought, "That’s what I want for myself." I knew cleaning people's offices was an admirable job, but I didn't want to do it for the rest of my life. That pushed me to do well in high school and succeed in higher education eventually.

What prompted you to choose higher education as a career?

As an undergraduate student, I was involved in Lambda Theta Phi Latin Fraternity Inc. We volunteered with high school students and did various programs to support student development. I enjoyed it. My fraternity adviser noticed and said, "You know you can do that for a living." That's when I changed my career path from clinical psychology to higher education administrator. 

How would you describe your time as director of migrant programs & services?

I hold the migrant programs close to my heart as I helped establish them and wrote the last two grant renewals. That role allowed me to be a servant leader, and that's what I aim to be as I move through my career. I loved working with students one-on-one and as a group to help them achieve academic success. I also had the opportunity to lead and develop a great team while learning compliance and other tangible administrative skills. 

What is your goal for the new position?

My overall goal is to maintain, enhance and create community partnerships to help the College of Education with student recruitment and success while supporting initiatives to increase alumni outreach, fund development, and grant attainment. I also want to diversify our student population, identify student success barriers, and see how to remove them. Ultimately, I would like to find grants to support and enhance our student success while increasing diversity recruitment efforts.